


𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 | Tobirama x OC

by iamgolf



Category: Naruto
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Cheating, Childhood Friends, Crushes, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Angst, Illnesses, Jealousy, Married Couple, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Training, Vaginal Fingering, dance under the moon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:54:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 23,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29787435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamgolf/pseuds/iamgolf
Summary: 𝐀 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. . .
Relationships: Senju Tobirama/Original Female Character(s), Uchiha Madara/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 23





	1. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑶𝑶𝑹 𝑮𝑰𝑹𝑳

**Author's Note:**

> So a little disclaimer, I spent a lot of time looking up Tobirama's age and stuff and it just got me confused so I will be putting their ages in each chapter so that you guys don't get lost. Hopefully.

CHAPTER 1

✰✰✰

ᴀɢᴇ : 9

✰✰✰

"GET BACK HERE!"

The wind was fast against her face. Her feet slamming onto the dirt road sending shock waves through her legs with each step. Air coming in and out of her to keep herself energized. Her blue hair was whipping away in the wind behind her while she looked back at the two guards coming after her. A large smile spread across her face. And finally two loaves of bread in her arms.

The village around her was run down and dirty. It was bland and stale like the bread she was holding. Or at least the part she lived in. Her village was broken into two parts. The first part was planted in the middle of the city. That's where all the people with money live. Haruka hates those people with a passion. Their fancy robes and warm food. They don't have to worry about getting sick when the only thing you have to eat is covered in mold. They say they care about her side of the village but are doing nothing to help the poverty that they have fallen into. Sooner or later it will come and bite them in the ass. It has to. That's just karma.

Her village had just gotten out of a war that sucked the lower class dry of their expenses. Haruka's too young to remember the worst parts of the war. All she knows is that it left her here all alone. Now this is how she has to survive. Take as much as she can and then try again when she runs out.

But some vendors just had to be assholes and send the guards after her. Lucky for her, they must have felt like not chasing her out of the village today because she could no longer hear their heavy footsteps behind her. She ran down the clay steps, almost tripping on the last one, and rounded around the corner. She could see the entrance of her little hideaway from where she was now. Feeling more at ease, she started walking at a slower pace.

Her side of the village was tightly packed with buildings. The whole area was just the color brown pretty much. She lives in a small room that doesn't even have a door. She doesn't know how she's survived most winters. Must be luck.

As she neared her house, one of the guards that she was running from stepped out. She gripped the bread tightly in her arms as a gasp let her body. His eyes met her's and his lips curved up into a smirk.

"There you are," His voice was low and husky. It made her terrified.

Haruka said nothing. She turned on her heel and started to run down the other way. She was curious as to why he wasn't coming right back after her, but soon she knew why. That corner that she was about to turn became occupied by the second guard who had the same smirk. 

She had nowhere else to run. She was trapped. 

The cold hand of the first guard wrapped around her arm. Her bread fell to the dirty ground. She would have to clean it later if she survives. She turned back to him and made sure to add extra drama to her face. Maybe they would pity her and let her go.

He simply laughed, "Not this time, Haruka. It's time you learned that your actions have consequences."

Her face was no longer adding drama. The fear in her eyes was real. More real than it ever had been. They've never caught her before. His grip only got harder on her arm. She had to think fast. She's always thinking fast so it's never really a problem.

Her small leg launched upward right into his crotch making him loosen his grip on her arm. His face scrunched in pain as his hovered down slightly. She moved fast. Extremely fast. She bent down and grabbed her bread and slipped through the other guard's legs.

Guess they were going to chase her out of the village today after all.

She was sprinting again while also rubbing any dirt that got onto the bread off. She still had to eat something. Her skinny body needed it. Doesn't matter what at this point. As sad as it was, she knew she wasn't going to last long like this. She would just be another sad story of a girl who died young.

The buildings came to an end as she reached the outside of the village. The two guards stopped right before they went past the border as if they would die if they crossed it. They couldn't leave their village just to chase after some hungry kid.

But she kept running. She ran straight into the woods. She watched where she was going carefully. She made sure to remember each twist and turn she took so she wouldn't get lost. It used to be a bad problem for her when she was just a tiny kid. She would have panic attacks thinking she would never get out of the forest. But she adapted and survived.

But some things still get in her way.

A root sticking out from the ground got hold of her foot. The mean root caused her to tumble forward. Haruka's body went through a group of bushes and when she rolled out, her eyes met a nice clear sight. She had never gone this far into the woods before and she was now regretting that she hadn't.

It was flowing like smooth silk. It seemed inviting, but she was scared she would dirty it with her touch. The water was clear and she could even see the bottom of it. Even the small fish that were going along with the current. It stretched far past where she was and she was confused as to how she's never seen it before.

She pushed her bread over to the side and kicked her tattered shoes aside. She took careful steps along the bank of the water. She had a feeling that if she wasn't careful a water god would drown her or something like that. She touched her toe into the water and shivered as it's cold temperature wrapped around her skin. She then took two steps in. She watched the dirt from the bottom of her feet wash away with the current. She bent down and touched her hands into the water until they were all clean.

It took her only a second to drop to her knees. The water splashed up onto her clothes but she didn't care. She cupped the water in her hands and drank away. This was the best water she had ever had. It tasted clean. No dirt, no glass, no chemicals. Just water.

The water ran across her chapped lips and cleansed her dry tongue. She kept taking gulps of the water. To some she would look like an animal, but she was so dehydrated. She was thanking whatever god allowed this to happen.

"Disgusting," A young boy's voice drew her attention away from the water. She almost choked on it. She didn't even hear it come out of the bushes. He was standing on the other side of the water. Sweat dripped along his face. He had one eye closed while the other one was struggling to stay open. His shoulders heaved up and down while he tried to catch his breath. A pale hand was attached to his side and blood was seeping out from the cracks of his fingers. His hair was spiky and blonde while his eyes were bright red. His clothes looked much cleaner than hers except for the few patches of dirt and the blood crawling down and staining his clothes. "You look like a slob."

Haruka would usually say something snarky back at the boy, but he was injured and she assumed he was just in a pissy mood because of it. She only glared at him, but continued to drink the water anyway.

"Do you need help?" She wiped away any water that was slipping out of her mouth.

"I'm fine," He took a step forward, but his feet betrayed him. His ankle gave out and he collapsed to the ground. She got up from the water and rushed over to him. He held his bloody hand up. She gasped at how red it was. "Don't touch me."

If he wasn't injured, she would kick his ass for being so rude for no reason, "But you're injured. You're not going to get better by saying mean things."

His other hand pushed himself up. He opened his mouth to say more, but Haruka watched as his arm wiggled around before finally he fell to the ground face first. He had passed out from all the blood he had lost and the running he made his body do while bleeding. She stood over him not sure what to do now.

But her answer came when she heard, "Where did that little Senju brat go?"


	2. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑰𝑵𝑱𝑼𝑹𝑬𝑫 𝑩𝑶𝒀

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haruka must hide the injured boy she found and will do whatever it takes to protect him.

CHAPTER 2

✰✰✰

"WHERE DID THAT LITTLE SENJU BRAT GO?"

Haruka has heard variations of that sentence before. Except Senju wouldn't be mentioned at all. A new word for her vocabulary. All she had to do was find out the definition and she would be good to go.

Her eyes looked down at the passed out boy and wondered what he was even doing here. He was bleeding and the wound didn't look like it was from some accident. She knew she had to do something for him before he bleeds out so much he dies. Those people are probably the ones who hurt him.

She moved her hair behind her ears and listened closely. They were close but she had some time to hide him on the other side. She bent down to the young boy and picked up his pale hand. She threw his arm over her shoulder and lifted him up from the ground. She put her other hand on his waist and started to drag him across the water.

His limp body weighed so much. She was struggling to get him over to her side of the water. She also knew she was making too much noise with splashing around which would lead them right to her. Hopefully they would mistake her for an animal instead of a human girl trying to help a mean boy to safety.

His feet dragged across the cold stones beneath the water. She felt him stir in his sleep and prayed he didn't wake up. If he did he would probably say something snarky and the people looking for him would immediately find the two.

Finally they made it across the water with some time to spare. Haruka could hear their heavy footsteps inching closer to them. But lucky for her all she had to do was hide him away in the bushes and act like nothing happened until they left.

And that's exactly what she did.

She gently pushed him onto the ground and rolled him behind the bushes. She made sure that he wasn't visible in any way and felt instant relief. Well that was until she turned around and saw the trail of blood that led right towards him.

Great.

Even though Haruka gets into a lot of trouble, she is currently wound free. That way she couldn't find an excuse for the blood. If she said it was an animal she killed, they might ask to see it. Her heart started racing. If he was caught, so was she. She knew she would die young, but she didn't know it would be today.

She could always just run away and pretend she never saw anything, but that would be against her morals. She would never be able to live with herself if she let a poor, innocent boy die when she could've done something.

She could fight the men, but she's so small and frail. And she barely got away from the guards earlier. There's also no way she would be able to knock them out. She saw the wound they gave that boy. She'd be dead in a heartbeat.

There's no time for thinking right now. She had to act and fast.

She rushed over to the water and searched carefully inside. She would have to find a sharp rock to give herself an ugly wound to match the amount of blood that was on the ground. She just went for it and picked up a rock from the bank.

She went up to the bush and sat down on the spot where the blood led inside the bushes that way they wouldn't get suspicious about that blood spot.

She laid out her leg as the footsteps were almost there. She held the rock up as high as her little arms would reach and took in a deep breath. She held her breath and clenched her jaw tight as the rock came crashing down onto her knee. She had to hold back her cry with all her might. Electric shockwaves ran through her body as her knee cried out in agony with red tears. She let a few tears fall from her pink eyes to make it look real and not staged. Well it was real, but it was also staged.

Haruka's knee wasn't broken luckily, but it was cracked based on how it felt. She's broken a few bones in her lifetime so she would know. Bright, red blood was gushing out of the wound and onto the grass below. She wiped the blood down her leg so it could look like she had been walking on it.

She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she just hurt her knee for some random boy she just met. Is she stupid?

She threw the rock into the water as three men stepped out into the opening.

They all wore about the same outfit. Red armour with a sword attached at their hip. They seemed dirty like they just came back from battle. They reeked too. She knew she wasn't any better. Their faces were thin and intimidating. Their hair were all the same dark black color. Their eyes glowed red, but once they landed on her they softened and turned black.

"Aliens," Was her first thought. Scary faces, color changing eyes, tall and lean. Definitely not human.

"What are you doing out here," One of the men spoke. His eyes traced down from her face to her bleeding knee. His hand laid on his sword, but he wasn't gripping the handle.

She wiped the tears that fell from her eyes. She got some of her own blood on her face during the process. She could tell from their outfits and dirt on their faces that they had just come back from some battle. It was a perfect way to find an excuse.

She sniffled while giving them a pitiful look, "I-I'm sorry...I was just running around the forest and I stumbled upon some battle field and while I was running I tripped and..." She gulped in some air while her voice shook. "I got hurt."

Their faces didn't change. This made her worry. Did they not fall for it? She hurt herself for nothing?

The same one that spoke rummaged around in his pocket for a second and then pulled out a role of white wrap, "Here take this." He tossed it over to her and she caught it with ease. He turned around and the other two followed behind him. "Don't run around here again. It's too dangerous for a little girl like you."

She smiled at the three strangers, "Thank you so much!"

She unwrapped the wrap and started to put it around her own knee as she watched them walk away. She waited a few minutes to make sure that it was safe to go look at the boy. She listened carefully to the world around her and noticed that the footsteps were far too distant now.

She limped behind the bushes and sighed with relief as she saw that he was still breathing. He was sweating profusely and his face showed how much pain he was in. She felt bad for waiting so long. She got down on her knees and rolled him over on his back. His face scrunched and he groaned slightly.

She lifted up his shirt to see how bad the wound got. She was never taught how to properly bandage a wound, but hopefully this was alright. She lifted his body up and leaned him against a tree so that she could wrap the bandage around easily.

Haruka hadn't even noticed that his eyes were watching her put on too much bandage. She almost screamed when his cold hand wrapped around her wrist causing her to stop moving. She quietly yelped and watched him as if he was some zombie.

"You're not doing it right," He grumbled. He didn't like the fact that some stranger was helping him out. Sure he was grateful for what she did, but he would've been perfectly fine on his own. She had dirt all over her face and now she had dried blood on her cheek. Her hair was all over the place and her clothes were torn. She even looked greasy like she hadn't showered in years. He wouldn't be surprised if she had fleas.

"At least I'm trying," She glared at him while she tore the bandage off the roll. She tied one end with the other and handed him the rest of the bandages. "There."

He pushed himself up on his palms, but winced while doing so. She reached her hands out to help him, but stopped when his red eyes glared into her soul. She gulped.

"You should probably go in case they come back," He laid back against the tree as his hand laid against the wrapped wound.

"But then they'll find you," She sounded worried. "Let me get you home."

He held up his free hand, "I'll be fine on my own."

She would say more, but she was cut off by a distant yell, "Tobirama!"

His head perked up at that voice. His eyes shined as he recognized who was calling after him. He turned back to her, "Go." She placed her hand on the tree that he was laying on to help herself stand. She jumped on one foot until her wounded leg felt comfortable enough to stand. Without saying anything else, she turned and limped away from him. She didn't even go back to the bread that she worked so hard to steal. Once she was gone from his sight, he turned back to where his brother had been calling for him. "I'm over here!"

He'd be lucky if he never saw her again, but inside he felt a little guilty for not thanking her before she left. He didn't even know she hurt her leg to save him, but when he saw the bandaged leg, he felt even more grateful than before.

Maybe he should come back again to see if he can find the girl by the water.


	3. 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑵𝑲 𝒀𝑶𝑼

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobirama finds the girl who helped him escape danger and offers his thanks.

"YOU. GIRL."

Haruka glanced up to see the boy that she had just helped only a week ago. What was his name again? She knew it started with a T, but that's it. There was also something with the word Senju connected to him and he had aliens chasing after him.

She was sitting along the bank of the water washing off her feet. She had another run in with the guards today and thought a little detour would be nice for her. If she could hunt she would gladly live here. Her face was wet from just washing all the dirt off of it and her hair dripped with water as well.

The boy's red eyes watched her carefully. To him she was like a feral cat. She was dirty and she stunk. And lord knows what she does when he's not around. She even tried to break her own knee for him. Maybe she wasn't a feral cat. A coyote would be a better name for her.

He spent the last week trying to sneak away to find her and properly thank her for saving him. He may think she's disgusting and ugly, but a thank you is needed. Finally after a week of looking for her, she sat right in front of him.

"What do you want?" She turned away from him and stared at her feet in the water. She wanted to seem more mature so that he might think to give her some respect.

He glared at her, "I wanted to talk to you."

Haruka pulled her feet out of the water as her legs closed in on her chest. Her thin arms wrapped around them tightly, "Listen if you have more aliens running after you, I don't want you coming near me."

He raised his eyebrow, "Aliens? What aliens?"

"Those tall men with the red eyes that turned black," She stared at him as if it were obvious who the aliens were.

He had to hold in his laugh. The Uchiha? Aliens? "Please. Those men aren't aliens. They're more like demons if you ask me." He chuckled. He was proud of his comparison, but she wasn't. She only looked uninterested.

"Aliens or not, it's not something I want to be a part of," She pushed herself off the ground to stand. She wobbled for a second and almost lost balance. His red eyes trailed down to see her red and brown bandage around her knee. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

"Wait," She came to a stop and turned over to him with a raised brow. "Have you checked on your wound?"

Haruka looked down at her knee. She didn't see anything wrong with it, "No. Why?"

"Did you even wash it?"

"No. Why?"

He took a sept against the water. She waited for his foot to fall through, but it never came. She felt unsatisfied. She expected the wall of water to snap and have it splash around him. His other foot went against the water as he started walking towards her. She only stepped further away from him. He was like some God. Walking against water. What has she gotten herself into?

He held out his hand, "You're supposed to wash your wound before you even wrap it and you should've changed your bandage a long time ago. I wouldn't be surprised if it's infected."

Her eyes grew wide, "Infected? What does that mean?"

He was appalled at what little knowledge she had. And somehow she managed to save his life, "How do you not know what infected means?"

"I don't know!" She was getting worried. "Just tell me what it means."

"Well..." He stared off to the side. "I can't really put it into words, but basically your wound just gets sick."

"Gets sick?" She's seen many people get sick in her lifetime. It never looks pretty because there's no doctors that willingly come and help them. "Am I going to die?"

He rolled his red eyes, "No you idiot. You'll be fine. Just let me show you how to do it."

He wiggled his arm around that was held in front of her with annoyance. She reluctantly took a hold of it. His hand was cold and it wasn't soft. She could tell he does a lot of fighting. The feeling of his palm felt familiar, but it's a memory she wants to push back.

His fingers curved up into her fingers and pulled her closer to him. It was dead silent except for the bugs and the leaves around them. He brought them both back down to the water's edge. His hand left her's and she mentally sighed with relief.

She gasped when his cold hand wrapped around her leg and brought it to lay flat against the ground. It hurt her knee to be stretched out like that. His hands worked around her bandage until it had come back.

Dried blood was smeared all over her knee and it had a smell against it. She grimaced at the right, but then looked at him, "Am I okay?"

His eyes met hers, "Yeah. It's not infected."

Her lips curved into a small smile, "That's good."

His hands dipped into the water as his focus went back onto her knee. He brought the water back out and Haruka listened as the water droplets left his hand and scurried back home. She flinched when the cold, icy liquid was poured onto her knee. His cold hand rubbing away the dirt was no help to this uncomfortable feeling.

His palm was so worn out. So overworked. She knew he was a hard worker just by the feeling on his palms. She didn't like that texture against her though. It felt rough and gross. That's how they saw each other. Rough and gross.

He untucked his shirt from his pants and wiped it against her knee to dry it off. Next, he dug around in his pocket and pulled out some wrap that looked similar to the one she had gotten from the 'demons.' 

He pulled some off and gently started to wrap her knee. Her eyes were still glued onto him. The sun was beating down on his silver hair and pale skin. His red eyes were deeply focused on helping her wound out. She thought he was a jerk, he is, but now she wasn't thinking that. When he isn't being a brute, he almost looks like an angel.

"What?" His eyes were now on her.

She shrieked with surprise and turned away from him. Her cheeks were more pink than her eyes, "Nothing. I was just watching you so I can know what to do next time."

He slipped the wrap into his pocket again and tucked his shirt back in, "You should be fine for now. It's just a scar now, but I would go see a medic or something just to make sure."

Her eyes fell, "I'll keep that in mind."

"This is my thanks for saving me the other day," He pushed himself up again. She looked up at him as he held his hand out to her. She slowly took it again and carefully lifted herself up. "So yeah. Thanks." He scratched the back of his neck while staring away from her.

She smiled, "Well thank you for helping my knee."

"It's not a problem," He seemed distracted for a moment. His ears perked up and his neck snapped away from her. He glared ahead. "I should leave. My family is looking for me."

She frowned. She felt attached to the stranger. Maybe because it was genuinely the first time she had met someone her age. Sure he was a jerk and has a stick up his ass, but he's also probably an angel. Maybe he's her guardian angel...

"Wait," He turned to her. "Will you come back?"

He seemed shocked by her question. The feral cat wants to play with the bloody dove, "If you want me to."

"Yes!" She seemed overly excited to have made a friend. Her first friend. He didn't say anything else as he started to walk against the water again over to his side. He seemed fast on his feet. They were probably close by. "Wait! What's your name?"

He looked back, "Tobirama! Yours?"

"Haruka!”


	4. 𝑾𝑨𝑹 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑷𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑻𝒀

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haruka and Tobirama start to learn more about it each other.

A WEEK went by and the two lived their normal lives, or at least what they considered normal.

Haruka continued to rummage around for food like the stray she was and if the guards caught her, she would run to the woods and if Tobirama wasn't there she would go back and make sure it was safe. Sometimes she would get so worried that the guards were waiting inside for her, that she would find another place outside and sleep. The next day she'd be covered in bug bites so she would go down to the water and drench her whole body while also waiting for Tobirama.

Tobirama kept busy on his side of the world. A child stuck in a meaningless war with prejudice growing inside his head each day. He worked hard. He wanted to be on top, he doesn't want to fall behind the rest of the Senju. He also had to keep a keen eye on his brothers. They were all a handful, but he still loves them and would do anything for them. As much as he hated to admit, Haruka plagued his mind. For some odd reason he couldn't push her away to the back of his head. He wanted to. He wanted the short girl out of his mind. Her pink eyes boring into his soul. He frustrated him to no end. He would've ditched her if he could get her away, but he showed up anyway.

He broke through the trees to see none other than the dirty girl rolling around in the water. Her lips were open and curved as she laughed at how the water splashed around her. Her light tan shirt was now a dark brown as it soaked in the water. Her torn shorts were the same. Her tattered shoes laid on the bank of the water.

He cleared his throat causing her to immediately pop out of the water. Her blue was stuck to her hand as she pushed up from her face. She was scared at first, but when their eyes locked, her smile grew once more.

"You came!" She arose from the water. Droplets flew and she ran over to his side. Her arms opened wide for a reunion hug, but Tobirama held up a hand to stop her.

"Please don't touch me."

Her arms went back to her side as she laughed it off, "Sorry." She kicked the water slightly and he had to move so it wouldn't splash him. "What took you so long?"

Haruka's eyes watched his figure shift around for a second. His long pants that hovered slightly over his feet blew gently along with the wind. His silver hair went along with the wind as well. His red eyes only brought out his features more. He was a lot cleaner than Haruka and definitely had more money than her by the look of his clothes. Though he seemed tired and smelled of sweat as if he had been working just a few hours earlier.

"I'm a busy man," Tobirama held his face high. He was trying to show who the dominant one was here as if they were dogs, minus the marking territories part. His eyes looked down at Haruka who seemed unfazed by his stance.

She tilted her head, "Really? What do you do that makes you so busy?"

His arms crossed over his chest, "Seeing as you are a girl, it's not important to you." She opened her mouth to counter him, but he noticed something behind her. A few crackers on the ground that were blanketed by ants. He pointed over to the food. "Is that yours?"

"Huh?" She whipped her head around and threw her arms up in the air. "No! Not again!"

She charged towards the ant covered crackers causing all the water to splash around again. Once the chaos of the water had stilled, Tobirama simply took a step onto the water and calmly walked over to the frantic girl. She didn't even notice that he was now by her side again. She picked up the crackers one by one and was trying to get all the ants off, but then some started to crawl onto her pale skin. She jumped with a little scream and dropped some of the crackers down into the water. Tobirama could've sworn he saw tears well up in her eyes.

He scoffed, "Where'd you even get those? They look old."

"A nice man gave them to me, but then he started acting all creepy so I ran for it," She spoke about it like that's an occasional occurrence. "But now they're all ruined so I'll have to find something else for tonight."

He raised an eyebrow, "Where are you from?"

Her small body plopped down on the ground. Tobirama soon followed her and sat down right next to her. Her cheeks were pink from what he was assuming was embarrassment, "The Hidden Dirt Village."

Tobirama had to hold in a laugh, "That's the name? Are you serious?"

The corner of her eyes watched him, "Sadly. It's a small village that's sure to fall soon. Rich people suck." Her blush was gone as her head held itself high. "But not like you'd know anything about that because you're a boy."

He rolled his eyes, "Don't get upset just because I'm the superior gender."

She glared at him, "Boys smell bad."

"You're the one to talk. You smell horrid!" He got up her face with a glare that matched her's.

"I'll show you horrid!"

Her arms went out first and went for his hair. When his hands latched onto her elbows, her whole body lurched forward. He pulled her forward and then rolled her to the ground. He held her down by her elbows and smirked. She wanted to spit in his face, but held back the urge. Her legs wrapped around his waist and tossed him back around. When he was flat on the ground, she lost balance and the two started to roll down until they fell into the water.

They both splashed around for a second until finally they were both on their backs, staring up at the sky. Tobirama was upset that he had fallen into the water. Was that her plan all along? He turned over to her. She was fighting a smile, but the moment his eyes landed on her, her mouth opened and out came a loud howl of laughter.

He turned away from her with pink cheeks, "Tch. Whatever."

Her melodic laugh continued until it faded away, "I win!"

He rolled up from the water and shook his arm. The water from his arm splat against the water below, "I could drown you right now if I wanted to."

She giggled, "Please don't. I won't live that long, but I would at least like to live my life to its fullest."

He was puzzled by her statement, "What do you mean you know you won't live that long?"

She arose from the water, "Tobirama, have you seen me?" She looked at him as if he were dumb. "I don't get that much food, I live on my own, coming here is the only source of water I have besides a small facet that gives us dirt water instead of clean water. Probably by this winter, I'll starve and die." She stuck her tongue out and closed her eyes as she fell back into the water. When she opened her eyes back up, she laughed again. "It's just the life I was given, but maybe God will take pity on me and make me a rich snob next time."

His face softened while he looked back at her. Her smile fell as did her eyes while they stared up at the sun. He leaned back, "Don't you have someone watching you?"

The look on her face didn't change, "No. My parents died way before I can remember." She paused. "I did have a brother though. He fought in a meaningless war and everytime he would come home his hands would be just like yours. Rough and hard. He died in battle and I didn't even know until three weeks later. They didn't even give him a proper burial. They just threw him on top of a bunch of other dead bodies and burned them."

"That's-"

"Terrible? Horrible? Cruel? Yeah you're about the hundredth person to say that," She rolled her eyes. "Sorry I know I sound mean, but I've heard it so many times that I'm just unphased by now."

A sigh left the pale boy's lips, "I won't let that happen to my brothers. I already lost one to those disgusting Uchihas and I refuse to lose anyone else. I'll kill every last one of those scumbags if I have to." His hand wrapped around a rock. He brought it out of the water and tossed it until it hit the top of the water and sank with a quick force.

She smirked, "You're scary."

He stuck his lips out as his eyes narrowed on the spot where the rock had fell in, "Good."

Before the conversation continued Haruka's stomach decided that it would join in on the fun too. Her face grew red from embarrassment as her hands wrapped around her stomach. She hadn't eaten anything all day and those crackers were now the water and the ant's food. She was starving.

Tobirama snorted, "If you'd like I can bring you food when I come here."

It was as if his whole demeanor changed in a matter of just minutes. Her eyes squinted at him, "You better not be taking pity on me."

He held his hands up, "I'm not! I now know that you don't get a lot of food so I want to help."

She had to debate it for a second. Tobirama being nice was rare. Whenever he would start being nice it was as if the world stopped spinning. Such as the time where he wrapped her wound. Of course they had only just met so maybe she had a wrong opinion on him the whole time.

His hand scratched the back of his neck while a small tint of pink painted his cheeks, "And I don't know...maybe I like your company and I don't want you to die too early."

She giggled as her body leaned forward. She then tackled him back into the water, "So you do like me!"

He groaned loudly as he threw his head back, "Don't make it weird!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so people have told me before that Hashirama and Madara were the ones that created the Hidden Villages so just uhhh look over that mistake for now lol


	5. 𝑳𝑶𝑺𝑺𝑬𝑺

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haruka worries about Tobirama after he disappears for a whole month.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 5

✰✰✰

"WHERE THE HELL IS HE?"

Haruka's arms crossed over her chest with a huff. Her hair flowed gently in the water as the rest of her body laid on land.

She had been here all day waiting for Tobirama to arrive. The sun was finally going down which coated the ground in a nice golden glow. Her eyes were glued to his side of the water. She was waiting for the sound of snapping twigs, but they never came.

It had been like this all month.

No sign of Tobirama at all.

The first few days she would come by and wait for about an hour and then head home, but as time went on she started to come by early in the morning and wait until late at night just in case they had been coming at different times. Just this week she had been spending the night here.

But no sign of him anywhere.

Haruka wasn't sure if she should be mad at him for not showing up or worried. There's also the lonely feeling that has been itching at her skin for days on end. This was her first friend. She actually had someone that she could talk to. Someone her age. Yes he's an ass, but that doesn't matter to her.

He hates you.

"Shut up," She closed her eyes tightly.

He thinks you're annoying.

"Stop it," Her eyelids squeezed down harder.

He never wanted to be your friend. He was just taking pity on you.

"Please," Her hands covered her ears as if that would stop the noise from inside her head.

He's dead.

"STOP IT!"

Her hands pressed harder against her head. She could feel her skull pushing itself inside and could already see herself pushing too hard. Her skull would collapse around itself with a loud crack and her brains and blood would spill into the water for the animals to eat.

She heard a muffled voice from behind her, but thought nothing of it. Maybe it was her brain deciding to shut up now.

"Haruka!" Two cold hands wrapped around her wrists and pulled her hands away from her head. Her eyes snapped open as a gasp parted her lips. Her eyes met the red eyes she had been longing for this whole month. They looked scared and worried. "What are you doing?"

She was so entranced by seeing him again that she couldn't find any words. Her mouth was wide open as her eyes blinked up at him. She fully expected him to disappear after a few blinks, but he remained.

Her hands reached up and rested on either side of his face, "Are you real?"

Tobirama smacked her hands away, "Of course I'm real, you idiot!"

Haruka had never been so happy to hear such a mean insult come from someone's mouth. She arose from the water. Water from her hair dripped down onto her back making goosebumps grow along her arms. But she could care less about the cold.

Tobirama was here now.

She whipped her head around, getting water on his face in the process, with a large smile on her face, "Where have you been?"

She saw something shift in his eyes. They weren't as bright anymore. His face looked down into the water, "I've been busy."

She could tell by that look that he didn't want to go further into it. She wasn't one to pry so she wasn't going to try to dig into a wound that he didn't want her to dig into. But now she couldn't think of something to say. She had to find something before the silence became unbearable.

Her eyes scanned the area. They went from left to right and up and down and all around. Then she found something. She felt so dumb for not realizing this before.

"Hey," Both their eyes met. "Do you think that this water leads somewhere?"

Tobirama glanced side to side, but remained silent. He stood up from his crouched position and turned around. She was scared for a moment that he would leave her again and never come back, but all he did was crouch down again.

"Let's go look."

She felt those goosebumps rise along her arms as her cheeks matched the pink clouds in the sky. She stood up from the ground and walked over to him. She leaned down as her arms snaked around his neck. As he lifted himself up, her legs wrapped around his waist. He hooked his arms under her thighs so that they could hang. Finally, she rested her head right next to his.

Her heart was beating hard against her chest. He could probably feel it against his back with how much it was pushing against him. She had never been this close to a boy. She wasn't sure why she was feeling this way since they're only just kids.

"Oh, before I forget," He rummaged around in his pocket before slipping out a small piece of bread. "I'm sorry it's not a lot. I was in a hurry to get here and I didn't want my father to see me sneaking food out."

Her eyes sparkled at the piece of bread in front of her. Since she's been out here waiting for his return, she hasn't been able to get that much food recently.

Not wanting to seem like an animal, she gently took a hold of the bread and brought it over to her mouth, "Thank you, Tobirama. And you don't have to be sorry. You could've brought me some crumbs and I would cry tears of joy."

She took a large bite of the bread and could feel the tears brimming on the edge of her eyelids. It was so soft, but had a crunchy outside. It tasted fresh like the farmer had just produced it. Fluffy like a cloud and the taste was making her taste buds dance with joy.

✰✰✰

It was silent between the two of them. They let the world make noise instead. Tobirama's feet walking against the water echoed as each time he rose his foot droplets of water would come down. Haruka was chewing away on the last bites of her food. Birds sang their songs as wind brushed gently against the trees.

The sun was almost set, but the golden hour was still strong. She liked the way it made the water look. It looked like a rich golden silk that could be soft to the touch. Every now and then she would even see fish rush by them. As they continued walking, she could see that the ground below them became deeper and deeper and the width of the water became wider and wider. It was a much bigger space than they had seen before.

She was worried about her friend. He's been gone for long and yet he has nothing to say, but she refuses to pry. But she still wants to check in on her friend. He has yet to make a remark about how she smells or how ugly she is. Nothing. Only idiot.

"Tobirama?" She leaned her head forward so that she could see the side of his face.

His eyes glanced over at her, "Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

The pace of his walking slowed down. His eyes glared at the water ahead, "Yeah. I'm fine."

She could almost see right through him, "Are you sure?"

Silence eloped them again. He kept walking until he was at a complete stop. He didn't look at her again, but surprisingly opened up the door that she had been scratching at.

"My younger brother was killed by a group of Uchihas," Anger laced his voice though his face remained the same. His fingers dug into the bottom of her thighs making her flinch. "That's why I was away for so long. I'm a little angry so I'm sorry if I don't seem 'fine' to you."

"So, you're not fine," She took the last bite of her food.

His head turned over to her. She could see it in his eyes, "I said it twice before. I'm fine."

Haruka sighed knowing that she wouldn't get anywhere with him. Her head rested on his shoulder, "It's okay to be sad, Tobirama. It's a normal human emotion. Ignoring it will only make matters worse."

Tobirama started walking again, but stayed silent. She wasn't sure how far they would be going, but she hoped that she would be able to make it back home without getting lost. She wondered what was going through his head. She only wants for him to be okay and losing someone like that can be a lot. She would know.

Suddenly his hands from under her thighs moved away. She felt her whole body surge down. She screamed while holding onto his neck for dear life. His hands were scratching at her arms, but she wouldn't give up.

His feet lost balance causing them to both topple onto each other. They were submerged into the cold, dark water below them. The cold gripped their bodies tightly. Haruka mistakenly gulped a large amount of water into her body while trying to gasp for air. Her arms thrashed around as if she would magically start swimming.

Tobirama's small hands wrapped around her waist as he hoisted her up above water. As soon as her face met the dry world above, she wasted no time replacing the water she gulped with air.

She growled, "I can't swim, you...dummy." She wiped her eyes while he brought them back to the bank of the river.

When she opened her eyes she could see the worry in his face, "I didn't know that, you half wit! Great now that you dragged me in with you my family is going to wonder why I'm all wet again."

She scoffed with an eye roll, "Ass."

He shot her a glare, "Imbecile."

They were now both glaring at each other, "Moron."

"Twit."

"Chump."

"Oh yeah? Well, you smell bad and now you're going to have mildew all over your clothes," He stuck her tongue out at her.

"Well at least I don't have mildew in my brain," She flicked his forehead.

He rubbed the spot where her fingers met his head. He growled and was definitely thinking about lunging at her and having them wrestle again, but he remained still. He watched her face as her glare slowly softened. She snorted and then quickly covered her mouth as she tried to hide the smile that was growing on her face.

But eventually she couldn't hold it back. She burst into a fit of laughter leaving the boy confused. Though he had to admit that her laugh was contagious. As much as he hated it, he joined in on the laughing as the sun finally put itself to rest.


	6. 𝑾𝑹𝑨𝑷𝑷𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑬 𝑰𝑵𝑱𝑼𝑹𝑰𝑬𝑺

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little time skip

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 6

✰✰✰

ᴀɢᴇ : 16

✰✰✰

"WHAT DID YOU DO THIS TIME?"

Tobirama stood in front of the girl with a large gash stinging his arm. She sounded entertained by the sight of him, and that smirk that was on her lips irritated him. 

He pouted as his head faced away from her, "I just got injured during battle. It's none of your concern."

Haruka's eyes rolled over in their sockets, "Yeah, yeah. Come here."

Her hand lifted up and motioned for him to come over to her side. He did just as he was told and scurried over to her. Her eyes watched his feet as they came over to her. Curiosity itched the back of her head. She still believed that he was some angel sent from above from the way his feet walked across water with ease. She wanted to be an angel too.

The side of his arm dripping with blood as he took his spot next to her. His sleeve was drenched and she could see the gash through the cut that had been left behind. He slid his armor up and over his head and placed it down on the side of him. Haruka thought he was just going to lift his sleeve, but next she saw his glowing pale skin that was on his upper body. Her face heated up and she tried to look elsewhere besides his well built body.

He slipped the medical bandage into her hand and held out his bloody arm, "Now, Haruka, what do you do first?"

"I wrap you?" She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Isn't that why you gave me this wrap?"

"Yes and no," His eyes narrowed on her. "Come on. It's right in front of you." She stuck her lip out while she scanned the area around them. "If this was a serious wound I would be dead and it'd on you for taking too long."

She flinched, "That's not fair! You're putting a lot of pressure on me!"

He rolled his eyes, "We've been over this too many times, Haruka. I'm not going to tell you it again. If you're not going to pay attention then maybe I should just stop teaching you."

She shook her head, "No please don't!" Her head was now whipping from side to side trying to see what he meant. Finally it clicked. She dropped the bandage and rushed over to the water. She took a handful and rushed back over to him.

"That's it, good job," Her eyes sparkled at his compliment. Then she stood over him and let the water fall from her hands. It dropped directly on his wound causing him to jump. Water splashed down on him as well leaving parts of his body wet. "No! You don't drop the water!" He growled. "Whatever, just wash the wound."

When he glanced up, he felt his heart clench at her frown. Her eyebrows were etched together and she was biting the insides of her cheeks. She went back to the ground and started to rub against his wound. He watched her carefully, specifically kept his eyes on her face.

She was no longer the young girl she used to be. Her messy hair reached below her shoulders that now led into her body. She was still skinnier than she needed to be, but each day he came he would try to help with her hunger. Her eyes still glowed as if she was a child though. Her clothes were rather new. The season was now spring and just this winter, he gave her some clothes so that she wouldn't freeze to death. They hung loosely around her. He did this every winter because he would get so worried about her. His mind was still plagued with images of her whenever he would return home to his brother.

She wasn't the only one who had grown though. She watched him everyday and even recognized each inch that he grew while she barely grew but a few inches. His face was sculpted perfectly to her and she wanted to run her fingers along his cheeks, but he doesn't like being touched by her in ways like that. She could see how the war was affecting him, but no matter what he wouldn't tell her anything. He had much more meat on his bone than she did and she knew this by how many times she had to wrap his wounds.

She took the wrap from off the ground. Her hands unraveled a small strip of the white wrap and placed it gently over his wound. Their eyes would often meet only to look quickly away. She counted how many times she would wrap over his arm and made sure to not do it so many times. When she was done, she tore it off and tucked it away in his pocket.

She decided to cut the awkward quiet tension between the two with a smirk, "Would you like me to kiss your boo boo?"

His cheeks were painted red. Once he collected his composure he rolled his eyes and pushed her face away from him, "Shut it, you hag."

She giggled before scooting away from him. For the past seven years, Tobirama and Haruka's relationship grew in ways they would have never expected. At first it was the two of them tossing each other around or throwing insults at one another to see who had the better vocabulary. Though when hormones entered their life, they could no longer wrestle around like they did when they were kids. They kept finding each other in awkward positions which would lead to awkward silence until one of them decided to leave. Tobirama thought it would be a good idea to teach her how to swim, but seeing her shirt get wet as they grew older, made him leave before even hanging out with her for an hour. 

So instead of getting themselves in awkward situations like that, he thought it would be good to start actually teaching her things. First he started off with basic knowledge things. She knows a little about basic math. Halfway through teaching her that, he gave up. And she knows how to read basic scriptures.

As of recently, he's been teaching her how to wrap her wounds and help others in case they are injured. She wants him to be proud of her so she works hard continuously, day in and out. It hasn't gone unnoticed either. 

He seemed to take notice in everything she did. Her speech patterns when she's excited or has something good to tell him. Or how her eyes light up when she sees him. She's like a lost puppy. Her eyes and speech when she's had a bad or is hungry. He even knows when his insults go a little over the line.

She is the same way. She likes the way he tries to hide his face when he's embarrassed. Or how his face scrunches when he's getting upset about something. He always smells like sweat, but she knows it's because he's working hard. His hands are still rough to the touch, but she rarely gets to touch them anyway. There are bags under his eyes and she wonders if she's bothering him with all her neediness to see him.

Now with his shirt back on, he dug around in his pockets once more, "Seeing as how great a student you are," she felt her cheeks get hot. "I brought you something." He was going to give it to her anyway, but he really just wanted to see her smile.

Which he got, "You did?"

He hummed a yes before pulling out a small box, "It might be a little crushed now though." He placed the box between the two of them and lifted the lid to reveal two onigiri hidden away. She gasped at the gorgeous sight before her. They were a little crushed, but that might just be because he made them himself. "The other one is mine. I thought we could eat together today."

She tilted her head to the side, "So like a date?" She inched her head closer to him.

She laughed as his face went red again, "As if I'd want to go on a date with you."

He pouted while eating his food. Haruka tried savouring each bite, but found that she couldn't. It was the best thing she had ever had in her entire life. It was so good and new. It beats any bread or crackers or rotten fruit that she had been chewing on back at the village.

"Tobi!" It was a nickname she picked up at some point during these seven years. He doesn't hate it, but he doesn't like it. "This is amazing!" She spoke with her mouth full so bits of rice came out.

He placed a hand under her chin and closed her mouth, "You think so?" She nodded, her cheeks fat with food. "Well I guess I should make it more often, huh?" She nodded eagerly this time causing him to laugh.

Once everything was down into their stomachs, Tobirama brushed away any food that had fallen out and wasn't in their mouths. He closed the box and slipped it away into his deep pockets. Haruka was sitting quietly and just watching him work away. Once the mess was all gone, he sat back down on the ground and stared up at the blue sky while her eyes were still on him.

"I think you have the injuries down pretty well," Her ears perked up at his words. "I can't think of anything else to teach you so I think I'm done being your teacher."

"Well wait," He turned to her with a raised brow. She gripped her shorts tightly as if she was nervous to ask her next question. "Can you..." She averted her gaze over to the water. "Can you teach me how to be an angel?"


	7. 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑲𝑹𝑨

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobirama teaches Haruka the basics of chakra

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 7

✰✰✰

TOBIRAMA WAS shocked/confused when he heard her ask how to be an angel. After the embarrassed mess she made him calmed down, she explained that she meant how does he walk on water. He started explaining all the things that go into it such as chakra and concentration and when her small replies stopped he realized that she had fallen asleep. He let her sleep for an hour or so and did some thinking while she dreamt. Don't tell anyone this, but he even moved her hair from her face just to see how peaceful she looked. Then once the hour was up, he woke her up and then left for the night.

The next time he came by, her eyes were burning with determination. She was bouncy and hyper and was ready to start training as if she hadn't slept through the whole education part. Her pink eyes practically burned into his soul. She cut the pants that he gave her into shorts for the warmer days such as this. She still kept the long sleeves on her shirt though.

Tobirama glanced down at the water before him, "We need to go somewhere deeper."

"Are you trying to drown me?" Her face fell flat as he reached her side.

"Possibly. Maybe then I can get rid of you," He smirked, kneeling down with his back to her. "Get on."

Haruka happily skipped over to him and hopped onto his back. She held her arms around his neck tightly and purposely nuzzled her head against the side of his face causing his face to get red, "Oh don't be like that. I'm your favorite student."

"You're my only student," He chuckled while standing straight up. "But if I had others then sure, you'd be my favorite." He turned his head slightly just to see her smile that glowed brighter than the sun.

He didn't want to go out too far because he knew she was going to fall in a lot and he didn't want to keep having to pull her out. He also knew that if she kept falling in, she would get discouraged and possibly go home early. He wanted to keep her determination high and keep that smile glued to her face.

"So," She cut off his thoughts. "How was your day?"

He leaned his back and sighed while staring up at the blue sky, "It's been a while since our last battle so luckily I didn't have to worry about that. Though I did help my brother with some strategies and then I came here."

He could feel her pout, "Is that still going on?"

His eyes narrowed at the water ahead, "It should've already been over long ago, but they don't know how to give up."

"Can't you guys just call it quits?" Her warm body pressed closer against his. "I worry more and more everyday about you. I don't know if I'll be able to take it much longer to be honest."

He turned back to her and tried to smile, but she could almost read his mind. She knew it was a fake on, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

That was easier said than done for her. She would wastes countless nights imaging gruesome ways he could die. She would have nightmares flood her brain when she would sleep. If he took too long coming to the water then she would start to panic, but as soon as her eyes meet his red eyes all of her worries melt away. She always wants to jump to him and give him a hug, but there's some "No affection from Haruka" rule around him.

"Alright, this should be a good spot," He scanned the area as he walked over to the bank. He placed her down on the ground gently and made sure she didn't fall off his back or drag him down with her. He was still standing on the water. "Did you hear anything I said yesterday?"

She placed a finger on her chin and stared up at the trees that loomed over them, "You said something about chakra and then went into how it works and then it started to sound like some bedtime story and that's when I passed out."

He sighed, "Well at least you remembered the word chakra. Now I'm going to try to summarize something that took many people years to master. So please pay attention. I'm going to teach you these things and then ask you questions and if you get them wrong you will be punished."

"In what way?"

"You'll see," He clapped his hands together. "Now let's get started."

✰✰✰

Hours had passed and the blue sky was now painted gold. Haruka's bones ached in pain as she did probably her thousandth push up for today. Sweat dripped from her body as Tobirama's eyes glared down at her. He had spent these hours going into detail of what chakra is and how to control it. Her brain hurt. This is the most information she has ever been told. It was too much for something that looked so simple. She learned all the hand signs and had them memories after he made her scream them at the top of her lungs almost thirty times.

She was on the ground panting. Her tired eyes looked up at him, "Am I ready yet?"

"Not yet," His arms were crossed over his chest. His face scared Haruka, but it also made her more eager to learn. "Your last question. Possibly the easiest question of them all." She felt the hair on her arms stand up. He bent down in front of her and let his arms hang on his legs. "How many chakra natures are there and what are they?"

She scoffed, "Easy. Four. Earth, fire, water, air." She felt so proud of herself. It was the first thing he opened the lesson with and even though she practically forgot it, she was happy that it rolled off her tongue with ease. But that happiness faded when she saw his head in his hands. She sighed. "How many this time?"

His hands ran down his face, dragging his skin down with him, "Only five." She felt relief instantly. "But with one arm and you have to name the five main chakra natures. Though I will say you were really close."

Her lip quivered, "You're torturing me."

He shrugged, "You asked for this."

She laid out her body with one shaking arm holding her up. She had the other laid behind her. Slowly her whole body began to go down (Yes Tobirama did teach her how to do a pushup), "So." Her voice was shaky. "There's fire."

"Yes."

She pushed herself down and back up, "Then there's water."

"Good." Another pushup. "Remember to breathe while doing this."

"Oh! Ai--" He made a sound that was telling her she was about to say the wrong answer. She held her body still, her arm barely holding herself up. "Wind?"

"Yes! Good. Keep going."

Another push up, "Then earth." He hummed a yes and she did another one. Her arm barely holding on. "And...um...uh..." She winced at the pain of her out of shape arm. "I don't know!" Her voice cracked.

"When it storms it thunders and..."

"Lightening!" She shouted out causing an echo in the forest.

"Yes!" He clapped while quickly standing up.

After her last pushup, she collapsed to the ground with a huff. She was all set to start training now. She rolled over to glare at her teacher, "You hate me."

He chuckled, "Maybe, but now it's time for the hard part."

She groaned, "Oh my god! Don't tell me walking on water hurts."

He laughed at her agony, "No. I promise it does not." He leaned down and held his hand out to her. She easily took it but winced once he pulled her up. She wobbled for a second but overall was fine. "Okay, now watch me."

Tobirama stepped off of the water and stood next to Haruka. His eyes closed as he began to concentrate the chakra in his body onto his feet. His hands were pressed together with the first two fingers standing up. She copied his hands but not his concentration. After a second or two had passed, he stepped back onto the water with ease.

"It gets easier the more you do it. Don't expect to do that the first time," His hands slid inside his pockets as he watched her carefully. "Alright now go."

Haruka closed her eyes gently. She made sure all outside sounds melted away into quiet air as her mind coursed through her body awakening all of her chakra points. She made sure while awakening them that they moved down onto her feet. She could almost feel her feet tingle along with the rest of her body. It felt new and accelerating. Her eyes opened with a new determined look that made shivers go down Tobirama's spine.

She kept her hands together and made sure nothing was taking her away from her focus. She extended her foot and stepped against the wet glass. She could almost feel her foot sticking against it like she was still walking on the ground. She smiled and took the next step, but as soon as her next foot left the ground, her first one went head first into the water.

Her body followed her foot into the water. She only fell waist deep but it was still disappointing to say the least. Tobirama almost laughed but swallowed it down.

She got back up again out of the water and got her chakra ready once more. Then went right into the water again. The laugh was harder to hold in this time.

Chakra.

Feet.

Water.

Chakra.

Feet.

Water.

Chakra.

Feet.

Water.

As she pulled against her pants that were sticking to her body, Tobirama's laugh cut through her concentration. She glared at him as she felt herself about to cry. She was getting frustrated now and having him laugh at her wasn't helping. Her face grew red from embarrassment and her fists balled together.

"It's not funny!" She cried out a little harsher than she intended. He closed his mouth right after she yelled. He studied her face and felt his heart sink. This is what he wanted to avoid, but he led her right to it. She was almost about to cry and he would give anything to find a way to make her feel better. "Gah!" She tossed her arms lazily at him. "Maybe I'm not cut out for this type of thing..." Her face turned away from him.

He stepped closer to her, "Haruka don't say that. Hey." His voice was soft. "Listen to me." He took a hold of her shoulders and turned her towards him. "I'm sorry for laughing. I overstepped when I shouldn't have. Don't get upset just because you can't do this your first try. This is a lot to take in and it might take months of practice for you to really master." Her eyes sank to the ground. "But I wouldn't be teaching you if I didn't believe in you. Yes you're smelly and messy and a dumb girl, but I still believe that you will be able to do this. I know you Haruka."

When she looked back up at him, her eyes changed. They had a gentle glow to him and it reminded him of the pink sky that came later during the sunsets or on an early morning. Her cheeks were the same color as well. A small smile graced her face and he never felt happier to see it.

"Okay fine," She pushed his hands off of her. He stepped back onto the water and gave her some room to step on herself. "I can do this."

She took a deep breath and once again got the chakra to circulate around her feet. She was sure it was there this time. Once she had enough confidence in herself and she focused as she took a step against the water. This time it felt sturdy. She knew she had done it. To make sure, she took another step.

She gasped when the water didn't pull her in, instead it was holding her up. She turned to Tobirama with wide eyes. He had wide eyes as well. A smile from her was indeed rewarded to him, "I DID IT!"

She jumped up in happiness as his smile came onto his face as well. But as soon as her feet reached back down on the water, they wobbled for a second causing her to lose balance. Instinct rushed over him and he immediately rushed and took hold of her elbows to hold her up. Her hands laid on his forearms.

They stayed silent when their eyes met. She could see her shocked reaction in his red eyes. Her eyes jumped back and forth between both eyes. Even though he was facing away from the golden glow of the sun, they still shined bright to her. They were beautiful. Perfect almost. The calm that would fill her when she would see them. The happiness that came as well. She had been looking into them for years and it wasn't until this moment she knew that she loved them. It had confirmed all of her happier late night thoughts of him. But she couldn't get a read of what he was thinking. She wanted to know if he felt the same way about her eyes, but that was something she couldn't dig into.

"Haruka," His breath blew against her face and she realized that they had gotten closer to each other than they were before. Her body did not move anyway.

"Yes?"

His cheeks were dusted pink as he pushed her away. His hand was scratching the back of his neck while he stared away from her, "I'm very proud of you and you should definitely work more on this. For now I'm going to go. Have a good night. See you next time." He spoke so fast that she barely had time to register what he said before he was already walking away.

His face only grew darker and darker shades of red as he kept picturing her face coming closer to his. He didn't look back at her. Even as she screamed when she fell in again after losing her concentration.


	8. 𝑨 𝑫𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑶𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑹

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 8

✰✰✰

"Haruka...you..." 

Tobirama broke through the trees and came into the eager girl's view. Her blue hair was soaked and her clothes were as well. They clung to her body as if her skin would immediately dry them off. She had a bright smile on her face and her eyes were sparkling in excitement. "Have you been swimming?"

Haruka shook her head with a giggle, "Nope. Not at all. Well wait...kind of. I guess...Maybe?" She glanced up at the night sky blanketed with stars while trying to find a different word for maybe. "Anyway! I think you'll be proud of me."

"Okay..." He started to walk over to her, but she held her hand up to stop him.

Tobirama came to an immediate stop, "Wait!" She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Let me walk to you."

His raised eyebrow soon became two raised eyebrows when she took a step on the water. No loss of balance, no shaking, no insecurities. She was completely confident in her movement. The water that was beneath her feet rippled with each step. The sound of water droplets hitting the blue liquid came after.

She now stood in front of a shocked Tobirama with that bright smile still written on her face, "Well? Are you proud?"

He was at a loss for words. Haruka was struggling to even stand for a second that last time they saw each other and now she can walk right over to him. He wasn't just proud, he was amazed.

"How long have you been practicing?"

Her face fell slightly at his dodge of her question, but she still kept her smile high, "Every day and night. I'm really tired, but I just had to show this to you."

"That's...wow...I," He didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell her he was proud but would that be weird? "Good job."

Tobirama's hand landed gently on her head. He ruffled her hair around and then quickly brought his hand back to his side. He watched her face intently waiting for some kind of reaction from her. Was that weird? Did he go too far?

Haruka's cheeks soon matched the pink color of her eyes as her brain short circuited. She could only stare at him like he was staring at her. It was odd for Tobirama to show any kind of affection and that was definitely a first.

She shook herself back into reality, "Thank you, Tobirama-sensei." She salutided him.

His cheeks quickly went pink as well, "Please don't call me that."

She tilted her head, "Why not?"

His pale hand reached to the back of his head and he began to scratch, "I don't think I deserve to be called your sensei." He did quotation marks with his hands around the word sensei.

Haruka giggled to herself. She had her eyes closed before and was now peaking at him with one eye, "Oh come on. Of course you do!" She opened both her eyes and reached forward. Her arms outstretched and her nimble fingers wrapped around his two hands. With a laugh she dragged him out onto the water. "You taught me how to do this!"

He was caught by such a surprise that he almost didn't prepare his feet and was ready to fall into the water. He gripped her shoulders to catch his balance. Catching her eyes, he realized just how much he's grown since their first meeting. He practically towered over the short girl. Her hands laid upon the upper parts of his arm while she held their stare.

The color of their eyes danced in one another as everything else around them disappeared. It was just like the night before except the tables had turned. Tobirama was the one losing his balance now and Haruka had to catch him. He quickly felt more heat rise up in his cheeks as he realized just how embarrassing that is for him.

He pushed her away from him. The sounds of quick steps on the water rippled around as she fought to keep her balance. She staggered for a moment, but soon was back on her feet, "Sorry. I guess there's still the no touching rule, huh?" Her hands clasped behind her back as she kicked the water like it was dirt. Her eyes stared down at her reflection against the water.

He soon walked up close to her, "Sorry. I just wasn't expecting you to catch onto so soon. I was still hoping to laugh at you falling in." He chuckled to himself. She watched him, confused by what he meant. "Oh wait. That was mean, wasn't it?"

"A little, yeah," She simply blinked at him.

His head was on the back of his head scratching again, "My bad...But hey, you can touch me if you want." He held out his hand to her. Seeing her wide eyed, red faced reaction made him stop. "Gah! That came out so wrong!"

The quiet giggle that left her soon became a roar of laughter. This caused him to get more embarrassed. He turned sharply away from her with a 'tch.' Once she realized how embarrassed he was, she swallowed the rest of her laugh.

"It's fine," She smiled at him. "I got what you meant. Here." She wrapped her hands around his and brought him out further into the water. He stumbled a few times, but didn't let himself lose balance and fall. "Now that I can do this you no longer have to walk all the way to my side. Now," She brought their hands up and pushed his open with her fingers sliding against his. Once their palms met she continued. "We can meet in the middle."

Tobirama's red eyes were fixated on their hands and how soft her's felt against his. It was almost perfect to the touch. She took a bold move and intertwined their fingers together. He almost pulled away like his brain was telling him to, but he let his heart take over instead.

They refused to look at each other. The wind picked up and blew against the trees which killed out the silence that they were engulfed in. Her hand felt so frigid against his. His hand was her only source of heat during that moment. Her heart felt at ease while his was clenching in his chest. They both weren't used to things like this. Though they both imagined it. Haruka was set to make it a reality while Tobirama was set to keep it to himself. And yet here they are. Holding hands.

Haruka finally gained the courage to look over at him, "Do you know how to dance?"

He was taken back by her sudden question, "That came out of nowhere."

She pouted and stared off to the side again, "Well I was just wondering because I don't know what it's like on your side, but all the rich people in my village do it all the time." He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not assuming that you're rich or anything! I just always thought it looked cool."

"I don't know how to dance. That's something someone else has to teach you," He noticed her face fall slightly. "But when you learn it, feel free to teach it to me."

She was silent for a moment until her eyes started to glow that usual happy glow. Tobirama could feel his heart climbing out of his mouth at this point. Why must he feel this way?

"Or maybe we could learn it ourselves!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just trust me! After this, we'll both have a cool trick up our sleeves," She took a gentle hold of his hand and held it out beside them. Then his other hand was placed on her waist. Her free hand now laid on his shoulder. "So we get into this position and then I believe I step back and you step forward with one foot."

Tobirama was lost, but followed her movements. He was sure the man was supposed to lead, but she's the teacher now so it shouldn't matter. She took one step back and he followed with one step forward.

Their eyes met again, "Okay. Then what?" He couldn't believe he was actually going along with this.

"Then we move our other foot back as well," She moved her foot back and he took a step forward. "Then a side step." She moves her foot to the side and he follows her. "Then bring them back together. Then you step back and I step forward. Then another side step but to the left this time and then repeat. Got it?"

Their eyes moved back up to each other. She smiled softly at him making all of his nerves go away, "Yeah. I think I do."

"Good, but hey Tobi," She glanced down at the space between them. "I don't think we're supposed to be this far apart. We're supposed to be only inches away from each other."

He realized that he was physically pushing her away. They had a whole gap between them, "Oh my bad." With his hand still on her waist, he brought her closer to him. Their chests barely brushing against each other. He could've sworn he saw her face light up pink. "Is that the right amount of space?" He didn't know if it was appropriate to smirk at her or not so he held back the urge.

"I think so. If we were any closer you'd be stepping all over my feet," She giggled. "Oh and if you step on my foot at least once you'll have to do twenty pushups with one arm." She was proud of her revenge idea.

He chuckled, "That sounds easy. I could do one hundred right now if I really wanted to."

She took a step back causing the start of their dancing, "Fine. One hundred pushups and I will be laying on your back."

Tobirama was determined to keep up with her pace while they continued dancing, "That sounds perfectly fine to me. But if you fall into the water you will be doing one hundred pushups."

Her eyes widened with worry, "That won't happen! I've been practicing ever since you bailed last time." She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout.

He scoffed with an eye roll, "I did not bail. I just realized how late it got and decided that I should go before people get curious."

She smirked and leaned closer to his face. She spoke in a low whisper, "No you bailed because you got scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Us almost kissing," Her eyes went from his down to his lips and then back up to his. She wasn't sure where the boldness came from, but she didn't mind it. She had become aware of her feelings for her best friend and wanted to be open about it. She wanted to know how he felt.

His face boiled with red. She could see the steam rolling off the top of his hair. The red calmed down into a small pink. His eyes softly looked away from her. His lips flattened. She couldn't get a read on him at all. She had a feeling that she overstepped a line. Opened a door she wasn't supposed to open. 

But they kept dancing along the water anyway. The moon was shining down on the two friends. Both quiet. Both in their own heads. The scene around them was calm. The water made no sound except for when it gently went onto the bank and then came back off. Haruka started to move them in a circle while also keeping the same movements. He was lost for a second, but caught up soon enough. They were twirling together against the water.

Their eyes finally met again and he felt as though they had been transported to a vast and luxurious dancing hall. They were the stars of the show. Everyone's eyes were on them. They wanted to see what was going to happen next. But instead of them being dressed from head to toe in fancy clothes, they remained the same. He may call her ugly from time to time, but he was only hiding away from the fact that she was captivating and no amount of clothes would change that. He liked her messy hair and dirty face. He wouldn't trade it for the world.

Give the crowd what they want Tobirama. Give them what they're waiting for. What you're waiting for.

"I'm not scared of kissing you," His voice was low. If he spoke any louder he might scare her off. The boldness that once filled her was now swimming into him. "I'm not scared at all." His eyes were narrowing down into her's. He couldn't look away from her.

Before all that boldness could slip away from her, she took a strong hold of it. Her tone matched his, "Then do it."

The hands that were being held up slowly melted their ways down. He detached his hand from her's and placed it in the empty space on her waist. Her hand rested on the side of his arm as he began to crouch down. Slowly, but surely their lips met in a soft and loving way.

It was awful. It was late at night so therefore his fresh breath was gone. Their lips were chapped, her's were way worse than his.

And yet, it was amazing. She had never felt this way before. His lips were rough, but his kiss was soft. She was trying to pour the feelings she wanted to say into the kiss and was hoping and praying they would reach. She always imagined that this moment would make her heart explode, but she felt perfect. She felt calm. She felt like she was in heaven and that this kiss would somehow bring world peace.

Tobirama couldn't put into words what he was feeling. Was it okay for a strong shinobi like himself to feel this way? He felt the happiness of a child in a candy store, but the worry of a mother. What would happen after this kiss? What if she didn't like him at all and was just wanting to know what a kiss felt like? Is this just another lesson?

As soon as the kiss started, it ended.

He pulled away coming to terms that he was scared of them kissing. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. His hands left her body and she felt lonely all of a sudden.

"I'm going to go," He turned completely away from her and started walking off to his side of the water. "I'll see you next time."

"Wait, you don't have to go!" She tried chasing after him but his hand stopped her.

"Good night, Haruka."

Once he was out of sight, she couldn't help but feel angry. Did he use her? What was that? Her hands balled into tiny fists as she tried to hold back angry tears. Why did he just leave her like that?

She made a small 'tch' noise before whispering, "Jerk."


	9. 𝑯𝑰𝑫𝑫𝑬𝑵

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haruka is sad, that’s all

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 9

✰✰✰

ᴀɢᴇ : 20

✰✰✰

IN THESE last four years, the two friends have been acting weird. The kiss was never brought up. Not even the dance. Nothing about that night was ever mentioned at all. Haruka assumed it was because he pushed it out of his memories. She doesn't even flirt with him anymore out of fear that he might leave her. They don't touch in any way unless it is for training purposes. They don't tease one another. All their conversations are completely platonic.

But who is she kidding? Was she expecting these things to push away her feelings for him? No matter how much she tried, Tobirama was all she could think about. His smile, his eyes, his face, his scent, his voice. Everything about him made her swoon, but she knew he didn't feel the same. She would catch him making faces at her, ones where he didn't seem pleased. He would come by at least twice a month causing her to feel alone. He told her it was because things outside were getting more tense, but she didn't believe him. She wouldn't be surprised if he decided that he was done with her and one day just stopped showing up.

He was a big part of her life, but she could only assume that she was a spec in his. She wanted to know what was happening in his head, but she felt like she barely knew him anymore. She started to feel like she was holding him back.

Haruka had grown two inches taller and now reached his shoulders. Her hair was the same length but was now held back in two braids. She politely asked Tobirama to bring her some hair ties some time ago. Of course it was still a mess along with everything else.

"Are you even trying?" Tobirama snapped at her. They were on her side of the water practicing with kunais. She was supposed to be learning how to block them or dodge, but she kept getting distracted by her own thoughts. She managed to get a few cuts on her because of this. "You know what? Let's just call it a day. You haven't even touched the food I brought you yet."

Her usual smile had not been seen in sometime. She feels like she has no reason being here. She just takes up space. Her eyes stayed level with the ground, "Okay. I'm sorry." Her voice was quiet.

Haruka put her kunai on the ground softly before brushing past him. His eyes watched her every move. Her mood didn't go unnoticed by him at all. He knew something was up, but was scared to ask. She slumped down to the ground and held her legs close to her chest.

"You're bleeding," He bent down and reached his hand out to touch a fresh cut on her cheek. He felt bad. It was there because he hadn't noticed something was wrong earlier.

She pushed his hand away before it could make contact with her face, "It's fine." Tobirama sat down next to her and stared over at her worryingly. Her head moved softly and stopped once they were making eye contact, "Is there something wrong?"

He shook his head. If she wanted to tell him that something was up then she would've said so. Maybe she was just having a bad day. He slipped a small box out from his pockets and slid it over to her, "It's just some ham. I was running late today and that's all I could grab."

A dry laugh left her nose, "Do you have a specific schedule to meet me?"

He shook his head while he watched her dig into the ham, "No. I just coordinate my strategies with meeting you."

Even though he thought that she would like to hear that it only made her feel worse. Her eyes sunk to a low narrow. She was glaring at the shimmering water now. Her heart hurt so much. She just wanted it all to go back to the way it was. She was tired of feeling this way.

They were both silent for a few minutes. Had their friendship been ruined? Was it all her fault because she wanted to kiss him? What's going to happen to them?

"Hey, Haruka," Her heart rate spiked at how he said her name. It sounded serious. She was already jumping to negative conclusions. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes widened at the question. That was the last thing she had expected him to ask that. She slowly glanced over at him. Should she just be honest? What harm would it do?

"Why do you hang out with me? I'm just a burden to you. I keep you so busy that you probably never get to do the things you want to do. And I'm sorry but lately it just feels like we've built some wall between us. I miss being able to laugh and have fun with you, but now it feels weird and sad," She never broke eye contact with him once. She wanted him to know that those feelings were real and that she wasn't trying to hide anything except for her romantic feelings.

"Haruka I hang out with you because I..." He stopped himself before he could continue that sentence. "Because you're my friend. I change my schedule and strategies not for you, but for me. I want to see you. I won't lie, I know there's a wall between us right now. And I'm not sure what it is." Yes he does. It's his own fears of hurting her or ruining what they have. "But I'll try my best from now on to break down that wall."

She had been convincing herself otherwise for so long that his words barely made an impact. He's her friend of course he would say something like that. It's all a ploy to make her feel better. She didn't want to cry, but it was hard holding tears back. She didn't want to be so vulnerable around him. Or weak. The cut on her cheek stung from meeting with the tears. She tried hiding her crying face, but he already saw it.

"I'm sorry...I just..." She sniffled. "I don't want to be a burden."

He reached out to her but stopped himself before he could touch her, "I already said that you're not a burden. What more do I have to say for you to believe me?" He added softly, "Please don't cry."

"I don't know. I think I just need to go home right now," She pushed herself off the ground before wiping some tears away. "I'll see you next time, Tobirama."

He watched Haruka quickly trot away from the scene. He wanted to reach out to her and try his best to make her feel better, but it was too late. She was already gone. She didn't even finish her ham.

His head hung low with a sigh, "Till next time."


	10. 𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑹𝑰𝑬𝑺 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑭𝑬𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 10

✰✰✰

HARUKA WAS RIGHT. She didn't want to be, but she was.

It was summer the last time they spoke. It's now reaching the early days of winter. She sat on the cold ground and held her body close. Her hands were gripping the sleeves of his shirt that he gave her years ago. It was still massive on her and it worked well with keeping her warm.

She didn't know why she kept coming here. Nostalgia? Hope? There were so many possibilities as to why she kept coming. She misses him so much. His face is becoming more blurry everyday. 

She knew it would happen. She knew he would leave, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon. And she didn't want it to happen. But maybe this was good for him. She won't be a distraction anymore and he can focus more on what matters to him.

Her stomach growling snapped through the silence that surrounded her. Her hand laid gently on it before giving it a hard squeeze, "Shut up."

She hadn't eaten all day. She still acted like a kid and would steal food, but she's bigger now and it's hard to go unnoticed. She's almost gotten caught too many times and the rumors about prison were terrifying.

She misses him.

She comes here every single day and spends hours waiting for him. Just this past week she would come here and scream his name and wait for a response. She hasn't let herself cry. Not yet. Her eyes hurt. She has a headache. Her eyes are begging her to cry but she refuses.

She misses him.

When one month passed she knew he wasn't coming back. Yet here she is. She was mad at first. He said he wanted to see her. He lied to her. But she can't hate him. She can't hate that stupid face of his. She can't hate his laugh that comes once every blue moon. Or his smile when she's done something good.

She misses him.

She can't remember the last time she's smiled. He was literally the only person who could make her genuinely happy after her brother's deaths. He was her only friend. Yet he thought of her differently. He left her alone. She was mad at herself for being upset when she knew it would happen.

She misses him.

She likes to imagine what would happen if he did come back. She had it all planned out. She was scared of what would happen if her plan ever happened. He would probably turn around and leave for another few months.

He's dead.

Haruka squeaked at the thought. It wasn't a happy squeak. She had been repressing these thoughts for so long, but they always came at the wrong time. She was holding back sobs. Her throat hurt along with her head. She would never find out if he died or not and that was terrifying.

It happened to her before with her brother and she wouldn't be surprised if it happened to her again. The universe hated her and wanted to make her life a living hell.

She would imagine how he died. A sword going through his chest. A kunai slicing his throat. A gang of Uchihas attacking him all at once. His head being sliced off. His head being smashed by a rock. Him getting betrayed by a comrade and being poisoned. Maybe he offed himself instead.

She hid her face in her knees while her hands dug into her hair. She gripped at either side and pulled tightly. She could feel each strand of hair slowly popping off of her. She gritted her teeth to hold to sobs back. Her eyes were closed tight so no tears could escape.

Her hands left her hair and her shot open at the sound of crunching leaves. Her head arose from her knees. She scanned the area and saw nothing. Great now she's hearing things.

A saddened sigh left her as her eyes closed softly. Maybe she could die right here. She'd be fine with that.

"Huh, looks like that cut didn't leave a scar. That's good," A voice she knew all too well made goosebumps rise on her skin. Her ears slowly lifted up as did her eyelids.There he stood in all his glory. Blue armor, fur that wrapped around the back of his neck, white hair and those red eyes, pale skin that glimmered in the afternoon sun. The blurred memory of his face had finally cleared.The rest of the world vanished. It was just him and her. He was smiling at her, but suddenly his face went from happy to shocked. "Are you crying?"

She didn't realize that he broke the strong hold she had built for the past few months. The tears were coming and they were coming fast. She almost couldn't speak. There's no way he's real. No way. It's just an illusion.

"Haruka?" He called out to her again. Her name always sounded right when it came from his mouth.

Before she knew it, she was charging towards him. He froze not knowing how to prepare himself. She ran across the water while tears flung from her eyes. She jumped up and squeezed her arm around his neck. She hid her face in his neck and sobbed loudly into him. His cold metal armor touched against her as he returned the hug. His forehead rested against her shoulder.

"I thought you had abandoned me!" She gripped the fur that was around his neck. "I also thought you died in so many grusomes ways!" She pulled away so she could see his face. Her hands pressed themselves against his cold face. His hands stayed on her waist. "What happened? Where were you?" She paused. "Are you real?"

He smiled at her, "Of course I'm real, idiot. We had to move to a different area for a while. I wanted to tell you but we were already on the move before I knew it." His thumb rubbed back and forth on her waist. "I..." He stopped. He wanted to say something but didn't know if it was the right time. "I thought that I would have to go to your village to find you, but I'm glad you were here waiting. And please don't think that I would ever abandon you. I could never bring myself to do that to you."

Finally, Haruka smiled. Those past months seemed to fade away, "You didn't feel forced to come here did you?"

He almost laughed as he shook his head, "I never feel forced. I come here because it feels right to come here."

The plan.

She can't forget about her plan.

Is it a good moment to do it? It feels right doesn't it?

"Tobi..." She stared down at his chest. "Will that ever happen again?"

Tobirama felt a warm feeling at hearing her say his name again. He knew he missed her, but he was now realizing just how much he missed her. His hand reached up to her face so he could push a loose strand of blue hair behind her ear. Then he let his hand stay on her cheek. She pushed her cheek against the palm of his hand. Those walls that they had built after their kiss were no longer there. It didn't matter anymore.

"I can't make any promises that I won't leave for a long amount of time, but if it does happen again and I'm not able to tell you don't get sad. You'll be on my mind most of the time."

While he talked she tried to figure out ways to smoothly weave into her plan. She was terrified about his reaction, but seeing as how intimate he was being she wasn't too scared, "Well just in case you are to leave for another couple of months can I tell you something important?

His head tilted over to the side in curiosity, "You're acting like I might not come back next time."

"Well, Tobi, you are fighting in a war so it's a huge possibility," He scoffed at her words with an eyeroll to make her feel better but he knew she was right. "So just in case it does happen, I just thought you should know..." Her eyes looked away from his. Her heart was crashing against her ribs like it was a drum. Her face burned red and she wasn't sure if it was from the sun or from her nerves. She tried forming words, but they refused to come out. She would open her mouth to find that she couldn't speak.

She growled in frustration with herself.

Fine if my words can't work then maybe my actions will.

A cool winter's breeze blew past them and with her hands still on either side of his face, she pulled him down and left no room for thoughts before she pressed their lips together. Her eyes were squeezed shut while his eyes were wide open. After he had left her for so long he was sure that she hated him or that she would've been mad and yet she wasn't. She could feel his cheeks warm up in her hands.

It took him a second to ease his way into the kiss. Their lips matched with gentleness. It was the same as the first one, awful yet amazing. Their emotions were spilling into this singular kiss. The moment he kissed back she knew he felt the same.

But just to make sure, she pulled away from him. Their eyes didn't want to break away from each other. It was out in the open now. There's no more being "friends." There's no way. He rested his forehead on her's while his thumb caressed her cheek.

"I love you, Tobirama," She whispered to him. "I've loved you for a very long time and I don't think there's anything that can ruin that. I'll always love you, no matter what."

"I love you too, Haruka," He could barely finish his sentence before they kissed again to confirm their relationship was no longer "just friends."


	11. 𝑾𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑹

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: lots of second hand embarrassment

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 11

✰✰✰

ᴀɢᴇ : 21

✰✰✰

AS TIME MOVED ON THE TWO CAN SAY THAT THEY'VE CHANGED FOR ONE ANOTHER.

Haruka has started, or well tried, to brush her hair for him to seem more appealing to him. Her fingers can only do so much though. Her hair at one point started to be such a pain for her to take care of that she asked Tobirama to cut it.

"Quit squirming so much," He grunted while holding a long piece of blue hair in his hand.

"You're going to cut me though!" She tried pulling away from him, but he grabbed her hair and pulled her back. 

"Just sit still!"

Her hair is different sizes all around, but at least it's not such a bother anymore.

She also started to bathe herself before he would get there, but surprise surprise he showed up early one time and made a whole fuss about her being completely naked. She didn't know why he was so freaked out because she had no conception of privacy. But just to make him happy, she made sure to do it after he left.

As for Tobirama, he stayed the same. He'd get confused about Haruka trying to make herself look nice. He fell in love with the way she was and would try to tell her that, but she's a stubborn girl. Though he will admit that he's been taking more time into getting her food. He can tell that things at her village aren't good. Her cheeks are thinner and he can tell she's lost a lot of weight. They had to stop training due to the lack of energy she had. She would pass out all the time.

Each time he would make these meals, he would have a sneaking suspicion that his brother was on to him. This made his skin crawl so much that he's forced her to hide until he knows the coast is clear.

Tobirama isn't the most affectionate person ever, but Haruka will take what she can get. She likes to take him by surprise with random kisses or hugs. She likes to see him get all red and freaked out. She'll stop the moment he tells her to, but he hasn't said to stop yet so she keeps doing it and having fun with him.

Neither of them have brought up the topic of sex yet. He's 50% sure she doesn't even know what that means. He's too afraid to ask, because if she doesn't know then he'll have to explain it. He believes this theory because every time he tries to hold a kiss for longer than it should be, she makes fun of him asking why he kept it for so long. He even said "make out" once and she thought he was asking to leave.

Haruka found herself curled up behind a tree. Winter air clung around her frail body as she shivered away. Winter came fast this year and she was not happy about it. Her runny nose can second that. He usually gives her clothes to wear for the winter, but he hasn't been by in a while. She stopped assuming he was dead and started to think he was just busy. Much healthier mind set, because she believes that he's the strongest person in the whole world.

She has the best boyfriend and teacher ever.

"I brought you something." She screamed at the top of her lungs at the voice that appeared beside her. She got in a defensive pose before realizing that it was just the long awaited Tobirama. She sighed now feeling relaxed and happy. He held a bag out in front of her and he hung from the side of the tree. "Or well I guess somethings."

A smile crossed her lips as she rose up to her feet. She rushed over to him and gave him the usual greeting hug and since he was gone for so long she got to shower his face with all the kisses she wanted to. He chuckled as she did so before letting her get back to the ground.

As her feet met the ground a cough erupted from inside her. The cough seemed normal at first, but it got worse as it continued. He placed a hand on her back and rubbed gently as she started to lean forward trying her best to stop the cough.

"Sick already?"

She chuckled, "I guess so."

Each year for as long as they have known each other, Haruka has been known to get nasty coughs. She only says it's a cough but her throat is constantly screaming and most times it feels like she'll never breathe again, but he already worries enough about her.

Once she fixed herself her eyes sparkled with excitement as her fingers rolled against each other, "What did you get me?"

They stepped away from the trees so that the moon had more light over them, "I brought you the usual winter clothes." He pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants and handed them to her.

She eagerly took them, ready to feel some kind of warmth, "Thank you. I'll put them on right now!"

His eyes widened, knowing what that meant, "Wait!" But it was too late. The clothes were on the floor and her shirt was way over her head. He had a full view of her bare chest. He jumped and quickly slapped his hands over his eyes. "Haruka!"

She groaned with an eye roll, "Come on! They're just nipples. You have them too. Mine just have more meat."

"Well..." He growled. "It's just different! Imagine that I just pulled my pants off in front you. You'd be reacting the same way I am."

She put her shirt back down with a huff, "That doesn't make any sense, Tobi. We all have a pee hole. Your's looks no different than mine."

He flung his hands in the air, "Yes it does! You have a vagina and I have a penis!" He didn't care what he was saying at this point.

"Oh so now you're giving the pee hole a name? Well I don't like vagina! So pick a new name!" She stuck her lip out and crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's the actual name for it!"

"How do you know, huh? Did you ask it?"

"Do you know what science is, Haruka? Have I taught you nothing?"

"What does that have to do with what my pee hole wants to be called?"

Sometimes Tobirama likes to believe that Haruka is secretly a genius and this all just some social experiment. The bridge between his eyebrows laid in his fingers and he rubbed them together. A sigh left him, "Just get dressed. I'll turn around."

As soon as his back was facing her, she then proceeded to do what she had done earlier. She threw her shirt to the ground and quickly threw on his before the cold could become more unbearable. Next was the pants.

And with one swift movement she was dressed in warm clothes. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his back. She pressed their bodies together and felt him freeze at her touch. She laid her head on his shoulder with a smile.

"What else did you get me?"

"Food," He reached in the bag and pulled out a wrapped box. "But before you eat anything, I got you something special."

She frowned, "You're being too nice to me, Tobi. I want to be nice back, but there's not much I can give you except hugs and kisses. So hold onto it until I can get my hands on something nice."

His eyes rolled with a chuckle. He pulled away from her hug and held out the box of food to her. She took it gently and held it close to her.

"I know what that means," He started digging in the bag. "You're going to try and steal something."

She stayed silent for a moment and even avoided his gaze, "Yeah, so what? You do all these nice things for me and all I can say is thank you."

"I won't allow it," He frowned at her. "I don't do these things and expect something in return. I hate saying this, but I do it because I know you need it." His hand found what he was looking for and dropped the bag to the ground. In his hand was a bright yellow scarf. Her eyes widened at how pretty it looked and how it shined so brightly like the sun. He moved closer to her and threw the scarf around her neck.

Taking the two ends of the scarf he pulled her towards him until their faces met in the middle. His lips were so warm compared to the cold air. She literally melted into it. Such a comforting feeling to get kissed by Tobirama.

When he pulled away he kept their foreheads touching, "And getting kisses from you is more than enough."


	12. 𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑫

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry for this one

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 12

✰✰✰

ᴀɢᴇ : 22

✰✰✰

THIS YEAR HURT.

And it was only going to get worse.

Haruka and Tobirama remained close. They took the time they had and made the most of it. But battles still raged on and hunger still grew.

The outside world wasn't bright or pretty. 

Tobirama hasn't been able to come by too often and offer her a helping hand or give her food. He's been caught up in too many battles and each time he thinks that they will be coming to an end, but each time he's wrong. He apologizes for what little time he spends with her and she always says it's fine with a smile that could burn out the sun. He's fallen hard for her. So much so that he even thought about asking his own brother to come and meet her. But he didn't want to freak her out. She's stated multiple times that he's the only person she's ever been friends with. The stray cat in her might run away.

As for Haruka, the state of her village has gotten worse. More of the upper class people have gone bankrupt out of different causes. They end up just like her, but they're so used to the happy, rich life that they get angry and take it out on people like her. She's been caught up in these acts of violence three times and each time it hurts more than the last. She manages to get a hit or two before she escapes to the water and if he's not there, she'll cry. Only three times has she been beat, but she's been chased plenty of times and has had things thrown at her and people blaming her for all this.

It took a toll on her, but she would never let Tobirama see that. She always kept the same upbeat, childish personality.

Now winter had come again and so did her sickness. Her lungs heaved heavily as her throat itched. Snow had fallen that same morning and lasted throughout the day. She didn't know how long she had been lying in it. She just knew that she had no energy to move at all.

Tobirama trudged through the cold snow on his way to meet her. He had worried about her the whole day the moment it started snowing. The only way that he could calm his nerves is imagining her running around happily in the snow. He had to convince himself that she was fine.

But he was wrong.

He could sense that she was nearby so he knew she was around. His feet tapped against the water as he crossed his way over to her, "Haruka?"

He was so used to seeing her bright pink eyes peer over the bushes, but when he didn't see them, he got worried. The shadows that the trees created loomed over him creating a feeling of anxiety he didn't want to feel when being with Haruka.

He stepped over the bushes and saw what he didn't want to see.

Haruka was laying down on her side directly in the snow. Half of her face had fallen in it and he had no idea how long she had been there. She was still breathing, but it was slowed and he could hear the sick air that was coming out of her mouth. She was shivering all over. And as his eyes reached further down he noticed that she didn't even have shoes on. Her feet had gone raw at some point and started to bleed while she made her way here. He could see the red blood that painted the canvas.

"Haruka!" He slid down to her level and lifted her face from the snow. Her body was ice cold like a dead body that was left behind in battle. His nerves were not going away. "Haruka, can you hear me?"

Her bright pink eyes were so dull. It wasn't like her at all. It scared him.

She managed to nod, "It's..." Her voice was scratchy. "...cold..."

His eyebrows knitted together as his lips pursed together, "I know. Come on. I'll warm you up." He tried to keep his voice leveled and calm for her. 

He hooked one arm under her legs and let her back lean into his other arm. He lifted her up with more ease than he wanted to. She had grown lighter and he didn't like that. He pushed himself up from the ground and brought them out in the moonlight. She pushed herself away from him because she didn't like how his cold armor felt against her.

Once they were slumped against a tree and back on the ground, he took his armor off for her and laid it to the side. She didn't wait for an invitation. She attached to his body in a matter of seconds. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his arms wrapped around her waist and brought her in closer. Her face found a spot in the crook of her neck to lay down.

"What happened to your shoes?" His fingers played with the end of the yellow scarf he had given her just a year ago.

Her hot, shivering breath tried to match his, but she found difficulty breathing, "They fell apart."

"Do you want me to get you new ones?" His voice was low and soft.

She stayed silent. Their minds had two different possible outcomes for this winter. She knew his was surprisingly more positive than her's, but she couldn't break his spirit, "Sure. I could use some."

She was going to die this winter.

There's no way that she could somehow survive. She was starving. She was cold. She was sick. If her body didn't kill her first, her village will.

Tobirama knew that.

He didn't want to. He wishes he didn't. A life without Haruka would be so different. She was the light in his dark world. Her smile could melt away any problems he had. He had watched her grow from the annoying little girl to the annoying little adult. Most nights his mind wouldn't stop racing about her and if she were to die what thoughts would he have about her then?

All he could do was hold her close.

They stayed silent for a long time. If it wasn't for her occasional coughing fits, then he would've thought she had already passed. Her breathing sounded painful. She got like this every winter, but it had never been this bad.

He was fine if she wanted to die in his arms. It beats dying in a village that has dirt in the name.

"Tobi?"

He felt his heart lurge at her saying his name on such a painful note, "Yes?"

"Can you take me home? I don't think I'll be able to make it back on my own."

He thought about taking her back to his own home. Ignoring anything that Hashirama would say. He knew she would be safe if he had brought her back there.

But why didn't he?

He found himself holding her close to him while walking back to her village. He should've turned around. He should've.

Her village matched the name. It was brown all over. Such a dull tone for a bright girl to live in. She was weakly pointing directions of her village and as he got closer to her home, he was beginning to realize just how bad things were here.

Windows shattered, houses crumbling, burn marks from houses that were once there, bodies sleeping outside and in some cases dead piled on top of each other waiting for someone to take care of it. In the distance he could hear women screaming. He saw dried blood on the ground in front of him and even further bodily fluids of all kinds scattered about. He felt sick to his stomach and even worse when he realized that this was normal for Haruka. This is what she grew up in.

"Stop," She called out to him. "This is it."

His eyes followed her finger. He could almost cry at the sight. A small crevasse hidden away by a torn sheet. He pushed past the curtain that was apparently the door. He felt like he was in a small prison. There was practically no breathing space in here.

He saw in one corner that a bunch of clothes were piled together. She had been gathering those clothes over the years in hopes that one day she can give them to someone if they ask for it kindly. But kindness doesn't live here.

In the middle of the small box there was another torn sheet, "Lay me down there."

He closed his eyes, "Is that where you sleep?"

"Not all of us get the luxury of a bed," She whispered.

Tobirama didn't want to, but he set her down anyway. He laid down beside her, not ready to let her go. She curled herself against this chest while his hand laid down on her waist. Would this be the last time they had together? All these years...

He's not ready.

Her hands slipped over her face and he could hear her gentle cry. He pulled her even closer and laid his head on her head. His tears stained his shirt as they grew harder. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't find the words to make her feel better.

"Shinobi have no time to cry, Haruka," He repeated the words of his father's that were said long ago.

Her head shook against his chest, "Shut up." He flinched. "Everyone cries." Her words almost broke the barriers he had been building for years, but he wouldn't let them crumble in front of her. "I'm scared, Tobi." Her voice cracked. "I don't want to die..."

His hold on her tightened, "You won't die. You're going to be fine. You'll live."

She shook her head again, "You're only saying that. You know it as well as I do. I'm sick and this village has gone to shit. I'm terrified. They're killing people and cutting them up and selling them just to make a living..!" His eyes squeezed shut. "The men here...they're doing horrible things to women...I saw it with my own eyes, Tobi!" She began to sob. "A woman was right outside screaming for help and I was too scared to move!"

"Stop."

"I'm next, I just know it. Oh god..! I don't want it, I don't want it!" Her tears were being rubbed away by his shirt as she continued to rub her face against his shirt. "They're going to rape me and then cut me up for money..!"

"Stop it!" His voice echoed through the small room. He couldn't bear to hear it anymore. All those images flashed through his mind as she kept on going. He knew just one thing that she saw, but he could never imagine just how much she'd really seen. "I won't let that happen okay?"

He pushed her back slightly to stare into her eyes. They were shimmering now but only because of the tears that flooded them. She nodded as her response.

"After the war is over I'll take you back home with me," His eyes burned brightly into her soul. "We'll go home and I'll marry you. You'll become a Senju just like me and you'll also be my wife. And if you want we'll have plenty of kids and I'll make you fat with food and I'll keep you warm during the winter, and I'll find a cure for your cough. And we'll learn all the dances in the world and I'll teach you everything I know! So please...just a little longer... please live..."

He hadn't realized that he had teared up. He was cracking. Maybe it was the happy life he wanted to have. Maybe it was the fact that he said he wanted to make her a Senju or maybe he imagines them having tons of kids.

Or maybe it was because he knew it was an empty promise. A ploy to make her happy.

"I like that," She sniffled. "I like that a lot."

She tried smiling for him, but failed. All she could do was kiss him. So she did. And she kept the kiss. She didn't pull away and make fun of him for keeping the kiss lingering. She kept it because she had a feeling it would be their last.

Her wet tears brimmed his cheeks while the kiss continued. He hated this kiss. He knew it would end soon and that's why he hated this kiss.

And just as he predicted it ended.

"I'll come back for you okay?" He pushed a strand of her uneven, blue hair behind her ear. "I won't leave you behind."

"I know you won't because you love me right?"

"Of course I love you."

He left. He should've left with her in his arms. He shouldn't have left her behind. What he thought was the worst possible outcome might have been better than what actually happened.

His decision to leave her there was something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.


	13. 𝑫𝑬𝑽𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑵𝑬𝑾𝑺

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 13

✰✰✰

ᴀɢᴇ : 23

✰✰✰

HARUKA DIED SOME POINT LAST WINTER.

Or at least that's what Tobirama thought.

He disappeared after that last night with her.

The war had ended and he was busy helping his brother out with the village that he had no time to even check in to see if she was okay. But then he started showing up again, but she wasn't there. She never came by. Ever.

He didn't want to believe that she actually died, so he started to leave little notes for her, but they were left untouched. There were no signs of her ever being there at all. After about three months of trying to see if she was alive, he knew she died.

How she died remained a mystery. He tried not to think about all the ways she could've died. His thoughts would run rampant.

But if she knew he was dead, then why did he keep coming?

Why couldn't he stop thinking about her?

He hated himself for leaving her in that hell hole of a village. She was crying for help and he completely ignored it. If only there was some jutsu that could take him back in time then maybe he could be able to save her or maybe just get some extra time with her.

He brought Hashirama with him once. He never said why, he just said that he wanted to spend some time with his brother. It was really just because he thought he would get some kind of luck with another person there. But it didn't work.

It was spring now.

A year and a few months without Haruka was different.

Losing someone you knew since you were nine years old hurt. It hurt really bad. He refused to feel this hurt but every day her smile would blur more and more and that's what really got him. Her laugh still rang in his ears. Her voice sang him lullabies when he couldn't sleep at night. Her touch lingered on his skin. Her kiss was still relevant in his mind. But her smile had faded.

Maybe he jinxed it. Maybe it was too soon for him to say the life that he wanted with her. Did it scare her away? Was it too much?

Why did he leave her there?

The rain bounced along the water creating multiple ripples. He was hidden beneath a tree as his eyes scanned the area on her side of the water. No, she wasn't there.

When they were kids and it would rain Haruka was never shy about running around. She would throw her tattered shoes off and bounced around in the wet ground until her feet were painted brown. She didn't mind getting drenched. She didn't care what he said about getting sick from all the rain. In fact she would force him out in the rain with her and even wrestle with him in the mud.

The times in the rain they had made Tobirama not care about the rain that would slip through the leaves and fall against his shoulders. He was waiting for some kind of sign even after coming to terms with her death. He had to stop coming here. It was too much for him and he had other things he had to focus on.

Wait.

That feeling.

That chakra.

"Haruka."

His red eyes widened at the sight across the water from him. There was no mistaking it. It was Haruka in the flesh.

His jaw hung open while he studied her. Was she a ghost? An illusion? Has he been put into some genjutsu?

Haruka had never looked so clean. Her blue hair for the first time in her life laid perfectly straight. Not a single strand was out of place. Her face had no dirt on it, no bruises. She had been dolled up. Her pink eyes were painted with a dark liner with a darker pink shade hidden behind. Her cheeks had also been dusted with pink makeup as well and her lips shimmered from across the river. Her cheeks had gotten fatter since the last time he saw her and her body seemed like it had been well fed for quite some time. She wore a simple white dress that reached below her knees and the sleeves were just thin straps. He could smell the flowery scent that radiated off her skin. And in her hands was an umbrella that kept her away from the rain.

Was this even Haruka?

"I'm surprised you're here," She carried no smile. No emotion in her voice. "I thought you would've left me behind by now."

He was still in shock. Her voice sounded so formal without the childish undertones, "I had a feeling that I should've kept coming."

"I'm glad you did," Still no smile.

"What happened to you?" The clothes, the hair, the face, the talking patterns. Not only had she literally been scrubbed clean, but she had also been mentally scrubbed clean. It left him feeling uneasy.

"A lot, but I can't tell you," Her eyes shifted downward. "I'm afraid you'll call me a liar."

He was so lost, "Are you okay?"

She stayed silent.

"Haruka answer me. I don't like it when you avoid my questions."

Silence.

"Haruka," He glared at the new Haruka in front of him.

"I'm afraid this will be our last time seeing each other. I'm sorry, but I have my own purposes and duties to attend to and I can't waste time on some relationship," Her eyes refused to meet his.

Tobirama couldn't fathom the anger that was boiling inside him. A whole year had gone by and he spent his time thinking she was dead and this is what he gets as a reward? Her leaving for good?

"So that's it?" His irritation laced around his voice. "All those years, you're just going to leave behind?"

Her eyes finally met his and he immediately recognized what she was trying to do. She had built a wall to keep her emotions behind. Just like he had.

"Yes," Her voice was stern.

"Are you serious?" His voice rose slightly. "That's it."

"Yes," She took a long pause but never broke their eye contact. Was she trying to tell him something and he just wasn't picking it up? "I truly wish I could tell you everything, but I have to keep my lips sealed. So in other words, this is goodbye, Tobi...rama."

When Haruka's back turned, he wanted nothing more than to yell at her. But instead he realized that he had a blank canvas in front of him. Haruka was all clean and pretty. She looked rich and he knew how she felt about the rich. And he'll put her own words about the rich into his actions.

He took a few steps forward and dipped his hand into the water. Mud balled into his hand as he extraxed it from the water. Now with a hand full of mud, he reached back and flung it at her pretty, white dress.

The mud splatter around her back making her freeze. The white dress was now covered in the back with mud. A thought passed his mind that this might seem a bit abusive and it might make her think he hates her, but he's only trying to see if that's really Haruka.

She didn't move. She let the mud slide down her back and hit the grass.

So he did it again. Some bits of the mud landed in her hair that went below her shoulders. He knew she hated long hair.

Finally she moved. Her head whipped around and it wasn't what he was expecting. He thought she was going to crack and start laughing or give him a playful smirk, but she was pissed.

"You dumbass," She growled. The umbrella dropped from her hands as she stormed over to the water on her side. "Are you that childish?"

He smirked, "I guess."

Her face grew red with anger as her hand went into the water. He was right behind her and now both of their hands had mud in them. She chucked her's first which landed perfectly in his hair. He would usually cringe at the feeling but his plan was working so he couldn't help but laugh.

He threw his next and even though she tried to dodge, it still landed on her chest. He watched, respectfully, as the mud slipped through her cleavage and started to stain her waist. 

She was not happy. Not one bit.

She went to go get mud again but he was faster and before she knew it, mud was sliding down her face. Her hand slid down her face trying to get the mud off. She was going to get sick with the stench that filled her nose.

While Tobirama was busy laughing, Haruka had finally reached her limit. She stormed over to him and tried to get as much mud off her face as she could. Once they had met, her muddy hand went right across his face.

He rubbed the side of his mud covered cheek. His other hand went on top of Haruka's face and smeared what was already there, all around. She took what was on her chest and rubbed it on his chest while growling like a rabid dog. He was going to rub more in her chest, but realized that he probably shouldn't.

So he did the next best move. With both hands on her shoulders, he pushed her down into the water. She didn't have anytime to catch herself so she fell right in. Still no smile or playful smirk. But she did grab his hand and pull him in with her.

The two splashed around for a few minutes trying to become the winner. The mud that was on their faces was now barely there with how much they had been pushed under. This isn't what she had planned, but it was better.

At some point her wall broke and a smile started to curl up her lip. As soon as he saw that smile breaking out, it was almost as if the world had become bright again. All the clouds that were in the sky still loomed up above, but to him they had faded.

He took a hold of her pale wrists and slammed her down on the bank of the river. He wanted her to stop moving just so he could have a better look of her smile. And there it was. In all its glory.

She was all dirty and her hair was in a mess and yet that bright smile still shined.

"Come with me," Tobirama whispered. "Come home with me."

As soon as the smile was there, it vanished, "I can't."

His grip on her wrists tightened, "Why not?"

"It's complicated," Her eyes turned away from him. "I would love to run away with you, but you'd get in huge trouble."

"So then..." His grip calmed down. "Are you really saying goodbye?"

He didn't know if it was the rain or if her eyes were really tearing up, "I'm sorry..."

His head hung down. He didn't want her to see the expression that appeared on his face, "I'll never see you again?"

"No," She whispered. "You won't."

"Then..." Their eyes met at the same time and he felt a cool chill roll up his spine. "Can we--"

"Yes."

Haruka knew what he was going to say. She wouldn't lie and say that she didn't want it either. If this was the last time that they would see each other, then she would want it to be special. She thought that if she cut him off then it would be like ripping a bandaid, but she couldn't do that to herself. Or him.

Tobirama was surprised with how good her lips felt. They were so soft and sweet. Her breath was fresh and felt like a newly laid blanket of snow. Her kiss was gentle and not hungry. He was thankful that she wasn't trying to rush this.

His cool hand slowly started to crawl up her leg. His fingers massaged her thighs leaving a moan to leave her moan and go into the kiss. Her dress started to slide down her legs as she lifted them up from the water.

His fingers ghosted over her underwear not sure where to touch. Should he just slide them off or leave them on?

Her hand wrapped around his and guided him to the area that she wanted to be touched. His hand pressed firmly against her mound causing her to jump. He rubbed the mound in gentle kneading patterns as two fingers pressed against her clothed entrance. She pulled away from the kiss so that she could openly moan. He liked the sound of her sweet voice and wanted to hear more so instead of kissing her again he let his lips go onto her neck.

This was better than any fantasy he had when he had dates with his hand at night. Oh god...it was so much better.

His nimble fingers started to push her underwear to the side until he felt her warm lips enter the outside world.

But before he could even be graced by her wetness a voice rang through the trees, "HARUKA?"

His lips flew away from her neck as she gasped loudly. Her eyes were wide with fear and sadness. It couldn't be over. Not so soon. It suddenly felt like they had just met yesterday. Had their first kiss an hour ago. And now it was all gone.

"I have to go..." She whispered and her hands laid against his cheeks.

He felt scared, "Don't. Please come with me. I won't let you go."

"HARUKA?" The voice had gotten closer.

She pulled his face down for another kiss. She tried to apologize with this kiss while also saying goodbye. She wanted him to know just how much she loved him and how she wished she could stay with him for the rest of her life. Fate had other plans.

With their foreheads touching she muttered, "I love you so much, Tobirama. Thank you for giving me a reason to live longer. I love you. I love you."

"I...love you too..."

He couldn't believe what was happening. One minute she was under him, the next she was up above him fixing herself. Her feet gently pattered against the water as she crossed over to her side again.

The umbrella reached her hand and then she was back to the Haruka he barely knew.

"Coming father!"

Wait...

Father?

✰✰✰

END OF ACT I

CONTINUE?


End file.
